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Mr Samarasinghe branded their call unworthy of attention, saying of the Sri Lankan team: ''They have not come from the back door. They have been welcomed by your government and everybody in the system, so don't let this great country be spoiled by people like this.''

The call has provoked a mixed reaction from refugee advocates, with some arguing that the Boxing Day Test represents an opportunity to get information to a mass audience, and they plan to distribute leaflets attacking Sri Lanka's treatment of Tamils to cricket fans.

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Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser has called for an independent assessment of the situation in Sri Lanka, including whether members of the Tamil minority are being persecuted and how those sent back from Australia after coming here by boat are being treated.

If an inquiry found that Tamils were still being persecuted and if verifiable commitments were not given that this would stop, ''then the international community has got to take action'', Mr Fraser told Fairfax Media.

The Australian Tamil Congress's Bala Vigneswaren supported the boycott call, saying the Australian Cricket Board should apply the same standard to Sri Lanka that was applied to South Africa when that country was boycotted.

The boycott call came as opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison announced that he and foreign affairs spokeswoman Julie Bishop would travel to Sri Lanka for meetings with government officials at the end of January.

''We'll also go up and visit the Tamil areas in northern Sri Lanka and see things on the ground there,'' Mr Morrison told Sky News on Sunday.

Mr Samarasinghe has previously dismissed claims of continued persecution of Sri Lanka's Tamil minority, describing those who have attempted to come by boat as ''economic opportunists''. Those talking of boycotts had a vested interest and should not be taken seriously, he said.

The two groups defended their action. ''Sporting boycotts have been important in building international pressure against cruel regimes and human rights abuses before. There is no good reason Sri Lanka should escape this pressure,'' they said.